WASHINGTON — She thought the hard days were behind her. Her rough childhood in Mexico after her father died and her family fell apart. The terrifying trips with a coyote across the border — twice because she was captured and sent back the first time.

Three Central Florida Democrats in Congress--U.S. Reps. Val Demings, Stephanie Murphy and Darren Soto--announced on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Transportation is sending $16 million to extend SunRail.

According to a release from the office of U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, the Winter Haven Regional Airport will receive nearly $2.5 million in discretionary grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The funding will go toward runway rehabilitation and runway lighting.